Protective sole for spiked shoes



April 1966 o. J. CHAPMAN 3,243,902

PROTECTIVE SOLE FOR SPIKED SHOES Filed Jan. 20. 1964 4:! a /Ig y! 4 Z9 /7 1- ?!IH If,

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INVENTOR. 2622. \fdid m/z,

United States Tateht C 3,243,902 PROTECTIVE SOLE FOR SPIKED SHOES Delbert J. Chapman, 8100 E. Jefferson, Apt. 202, Devon, Detroit, Mich. Filed Jan. 20, 1964, Ser. No. 338,993 7 Claims. (Cl. 3672) This invention relates generally to shoes and particularly to an auxiliary protective sole attachable to the spikes of a golf shoe or the like.

The shoe to which the present invention relates is one in which a plurality of metallic spikes are mounted on and extend outwardly from the sole and heel thereof. These spikes are designed to prevent the feet of the wearer from slipping on turf or dirt while walking, playing golf, etc. However, this type of shoe is not adapted for use in walking on concrete, hardwood flooring, or carpeting as not only will the hardwood be marred or damaged and the carpet life severely shortened, but also the spikes will wear faster when walking on concrete or hardwood. Further, there is an increased tendency toward slipping when walking on concrete or hardwood which results from the low coefficient of friction of the metal spikes. Thus, for example, when one wearing his golf shoes wishes to Walk on the adjoining paved areas, the club house, locker room, etc, he must either remove his golf shoes or subject the surface he is walking on to the abovernentioned Wear and himself to the increased danger of injury by falling.

Various protective devices have been proposed in the past with, however, the drawbacks of either being relatively expensive to construct, burdensome to attach to the shoe, or unsightly in appearance.

A principal object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide a protective sole for golf shoes or the like attachable thereto which will protect the surface being walked on from injurious effect.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a protective sole for golf shoes or the like attachable thereto which will prevent the user from slipping on the surface being walked on other than turf or dirt.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a protective and wear-preventing sole for spikes mounted on a shoe sole which is attachable directly thereto for use in walking on a surface other than turf or dirt.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a protective sole of the above character attachable directly to the spikes of a golf shoe or the like.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a protective sole of the above character which may be easily fitted to any size golf shoe or the like.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a protective sole for golf shoes or the like which is relatively inexpensive to fabricate, neat in appearance and simple to attach.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a golf shoe embodying a protective sole constructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the shoe of FIG. I viewed in the direction of the arrows 22;

'FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 2 taken along line 33 thereof;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of one of the spikes to which the protective sole of the present invention is attached;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a fastener eler- 3,243,902 Ice Patented Ap fi 1966 ment attachable to a spike and which may be mounted in a protective sole constructed according to the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 6 taken along line 7-7 thereof.

Referring now to the drawings, a golf shoe is shown generally at 1 and is seen to include a sole 3 and heel 5 portion to which a plurality of golf spikes 7 and 8 are fixed in a conventional manner. An auxiliary sole 9 constructed from closed cell neoprene sponge or other flexible material possessing suitable properties for wall ing, is shown as being substantially coextensive with the shoe sole 3 and heel 5 portions and as having a plurality of openings 11 and 13 formed therein. These openings 11 and 13 as well as the auxiliary sole contour may be preformed, as for example, at the factory, to be used with correspondingly formed shoes. The auxiliary sole of the present invention is not so limited, however, as any shoe repairman, golf club attendant, or even the golf shoe wearer may purchase suitable sole material and form the appropriate openings 11 and 13 therein.

As shown in FIGURE 3, some of the openings formed in the auxiliary sole 9, specifically, the openings 13, are each sized to receive a fastener 15 adapted to grip the spikes 7 which are specially designed in a manner to be described. Thus, the fasteners 15, made from nylon or other suitable material, are each provided with a hollow portion 17 adapted to be snugly received within the opening 13. An outwardly extending radial flange portion 19, adapted to engage the wall of the opening 13 of the auxiliary sole 9, may be formed at one end of the fasteners 15 while the other end thereof is provided with a radially inwardly extending flange portion 21. The spikes 7 are shown as being formed with a reduced diameter neck portion 23 adapted to receive the flange portion 21 of the fasteners '15 when the auxiliary sole 9 is positioned adjacent the sole 3 and heel 5 portions of the shoe 1. The hollow portion 17 may be made flexible to facilitate easy positioning of the flange 21 in the neck portion 23 :by providing a pair of longitudinally extending slits 25 therein. The inserts 15 may be mounted within the openings 13 in the auxiliary sole 9 merely by manually pushing each insert into an opening 13 from the top thereof. The radial flange portion 19 will imbed in the wall of the opening 13 to prevent the insert from pulling out. Thus, to mount the auxiliary sole 9 on the shoe 1, one need only insert selected ones of the fasteners 15 in appropriate openings 13 and force the fastener flanges 21 on the spikes 7 until the flanges 21 are received in the neck portions 23. It should be noted that the inserts are so designed and received in the opening 13 so that no part of the insert or spike contacts the floor or other surface.

To facilitate removal of the auxiliary sole 9 from the shoe 1, each of the spikes 7 may be provided with a tapered surface 27 adjacent the neck portion 23 while the fasteners 15 may be formed with a tapered surface 29 adjacent the flange 21. Thus, by pulling the auxiliary sole 9 away from the shoe 1, engagement between the surfaces 27 and 29 will cam the hollow flexible portion 17 and flange portion 21 outwardly and the auxiliary sole Will easily be removed.

As shown, only selected ones of the openings formed in the auxiliary sole 9 need be provided with fasteners 15 to mount the auxiliary sole 9 on the shoe 1 and only the corresponding spikes 7 need be of the special design with the neck port-ion 23 formed thereon. While the fasteners 15 are shown as being adjacent the front of the sole 3 and the rear of the heel 5, it is obvious that these fasteners may be positioned at nearly any desired location of the shoe sole and heel. Further, the thickness of the auxiliary sole 9 is so designed, the neck portion 23 is so positioned on the spikes 7 and the flange portion 21 is so positioned on the fastener 15 that engagement between the flange 21 and the neck 23 will occur when the auxiliary sole 9 is substantially in engagement with the sole 3 and heel of the shoe 1.

While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described herein, it is to be understood that various additions, substitutions, modifications and omissions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention as encompassed by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

'1. A protective device adapted for use with golf shoes 'or the like, said shoe having a sole and heel portion with spikes extending outwardly therefrom, an auxiliary sole substantially coextensive with the sole and heel portion and having openings therein corresponding to said spikes, at least some of said spikes having a recess formed therein, fastener means positioned in at least some of the auxiliary sole openings and adapted to be received in the recess portion of said last-mentioned spikes.

2. A protective device adapted for use with golf shoes or the like, said shoe having a sole and heel portion with spikes extending outwardly therefrom, an auxiliary sole substantially coextensive with the sole and heel portion and adapted to have openings formed therein corresponding to said spikes, at least some of said spikes having a recess formed therein, fastener means removably positioned in at least some of the auxiliary sole openings and adapted to be received in the recess portion of said lastmentioned spikes.

3. A protective device adapted for use with golf shoes or the like, said shoe having a sole and heel portion with spikes extending outwardly therefrom, an auxiliary sole substantially coextensive with the sole and heel portion and having openings therein corresponding to said spikes, at least some of said spikes having a recess formed therein, flexible fastener means positioned in at least some of the openings formed in said auxiliary sole and having means thereon adapted to be received in said spike recesses whereby said auxiliary sole may be removably retained on said sole and heel portion.

4. A protective device adapted for use with golf shoes or the like, said shoe having a sole and heel portion with spikes extending outwardly therefrom, an auxiliary sole substantially coextensive with the sole and heel portion and having openings therein corresponding to said spikes, at least some of said spikes having an annular groove formed therein, a hollow cylindrical fastener snugly received Wholly within at least some of said openings formed in said auxiliary sole, each of said fasteners having a generally radially outwardly extending flange portion formed adjacent one end and a generally radially inwardly extending flange port-ion formed adjacent the other end thereof adapted to be received in the annular groove formed in a corresponding one of said spikes and 4 at least one slit formed in each of said fasteners and extending from said other end to a point beyond said inwardly extending flange.

5. A protective device adapted for use with golf shoes or the like, said shoe having a sole and heel portion with spikes extending outwardly therefrom, an auxiliary sole substantially coextensive with the sole and heel portion and having openings therein corresponding to said spikes, at least some of said spikes having an annular groove formed therein, a hollow cylindrical fastener snugly received wholly within at least some of said openings formed in said auxiliary sole, each of said fasteners having a generally radially outwardly extending flange portion formed adjacent one end and a generally radially lirwardly extending flange portion formed adjacent the other end thereof, said inwardly extending flange terminating at its axial inward portion in a tapered conical surface and adapted to be received in the annular groove formed in a corresponding one of said spikes and at least one slit formed in each of said fasteners and extending from said other end to a point beyond said inwardly extending flange.

6. A protective device for use with golf shoes or the like, said shoe having a sole and heel portion with spikes extending outwardly therefrom, an auxiliary sole having a thickness at least in excess of the projected length of said spikes, said auxiliary sole being substantially coextensive with the sole and heel portion and having openings therein corresponding to said spikes, a fastener positioned in at least some of said openings, said fasteners and the adjacent ones of said spikes being formed with a mating projection and groove whereby engagement of said spikes by said fasteners removably retains said auxiliary sole adjacent said sole and heel portion.

7. A protective device for use with golf shoes or the like, said shoe having a sole and heel portion with spikes extending outwardly therefrom, an auxiliary sole having a thickness at least in excess of the projected length of said spikes, said auxiliary sole being substantially coextensive with the sole and'heel portion and having openings therein corresponding to said spikes, a flexible fastener positioned in at least some of said openings, said fasteners and the adjacent ones of said spikes being formed with a mating projection and groove whereby engagement of said spikes by said fasteners rerrlovably retains said auxiliary sole adjacent said sole 'and heel portion.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,076,316 4/1937 Beals 3'61l4 2,801,479 8/1957 Gilbert 3'61l4 2,958,963 11/1960 'Lougheed 36-414 3,020,654 2/1962 McCann 36-114 FRANK J. COHEN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A PROTECTIVE DEVICE ADAPTED FOR USE WITH GOLF SHOES OR THE LIKE, SAID SHOE HAVING A SOLE AND HEEL PORTION WITH SPIKES EXTENDING OUTWARDLY THEREFRON, AN AUXILIARY SOLE SUBSTANTIALLY COEXTENSIVE WITH THE SOLE AND HEEL PORTION AND HAVING OPENINGS THEREIN CORRESPONDING TO SAID SPIKES, AT LEAST SOME OF SAID SPIKES HAVING A RECESS FORMED THEREIN, FASTENER MEANS POSITIONED IN AT LEAST SOME OF THE AUXILIARY SOLE OPENINGS AND ADAPTED TO BE RECEIVED IN THE RECESS PORTION OF SAID LAST-MENTIONED SPIKES. 